Hispanics fuel Franklin County population growth

CHAMBERSBURG - An increasing Hispanic population has been largely responsible for growth in Franklin County, the seventh-fastest growing county in Pennsylvania.

According to Census data released last week, the county’s population grew by 4,616 people in seven years. Hispanics (2,491 people) accounted for more than half the growth

The county’s Hispanic population grew 39 percent from 2010 to 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 State and County Detailed Population Estimates. The non-Hispanic population grew by 1 percent, or 2,125 people.

The county is following a statewide trend. Pennsylvania is getting more diverse and older.

By race, Franklin County’s population shifted from 94 percent white in 2010 to 92 percent white in 2017. Other racial groups have grown, most notably African Americans whose population accounted for 4 percent of the county total population in 2017, up from 3 percent in 2010. About 2 percent of county residents in both 2010 and 2017 indicated they were multiracial.

Franklin County has fewer children and more retirees, according to Census data.

While the county’s overall population grew 1 percent in seven years, the population 65 years and older grew by 20 percent. The elderly population of 85 years and older grew by 22 percent.

The county population younger than 18 declined by 4 percent, or nearly 1,300 children.

The county’s median age has grown two years older between 2010 and 2017, according to the Census estimates. The median age of the people living in Franklin County was 41.9 years in 2017 compared to 40.1 years in 2010.

The county is aging faster than Pennsylvania. The median age increased statewide from 40.1 years in 2010 to 40.7 in 2017.

The median age increased in 62 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, according to the Pennsylvania State Data Center. Pike and Fulton counties experienced some of the highest increases in the median age of their populations with an increase of 4.2 years in Pike County and an increase of 3.6 years in Fulton County. Sullivan and Cameron counties had the highest median ages at 53.4 years and 51.3 years respectively. The counties with the lowest median age in Pennsylvania included Centre (32.0 years), the home of Penn State, and Philadelphia (34.4 years). The median age decreased the most in Allegheny County where it fell by 0.6 years from 2010 to 2017.

The aging population increased by 10 percent or more in 48 Pennsylvania counties, according to the data center. Sullivan and Cameron counties had the highest proportion of persons aged 55 years and over. Centre County and Philadelphia had the smallest share of those 55 years and over in both 2010 and 2017.

Pennsylvania’s population 55 years and over, consisting of Baby Boomers and to a lesser extent the Silent and Greatest Generations, grew by 14.2 percent from 2010 to 2017, the largest increase among all generational cohorts, according to the data center. Persons age 19 years or younger (Post-Millennials) decreased by 5.4 percent while persons age 20 to 34 (Millennials) grew by 5.7 percent. Middle-age adults 35 to 54 years (Gen-Xers) shrank by 10.4 percent from 2010 to 2017.

The 55-years-and-over cohort grew from 28 percent of Pennsylvania’s total population in 2010 to 32 percent of the population in 2017.

The racial and ethnic makeup of Pennsylvania also shifted, according to the data center. Non-Hispanic whites was the only racial or ethnic subpopulation to decline from 2010 to 2017. It decreased by 3.1 percent. The Hispanic and Latino population of any race grew nearly 31 percent. The non-Hispanic Asian population increased nearly 29 percent. The non-Hispanic black or African-American population increased by just 3.8 percent during the same period.

The counties with the highest percent change in Hispanic or Latino populations were Luzerne (74 percent), Schuylkill (53 percent), Cumberland (51 percent), Lebanon (49 percent), and Lackawanna (48 percent). The state data center looked at the 22 Pennsylvania counties with Hispanic populations of 6,000 or greater.

Hispanic or Latino residents comprise nearly a quarter of Lehigh County’s population in 2017. Berks County also had 21.0 percent of its total population identifying as Hispanic or Latino in 2017.

From 2010 to 2017, the Hispanic or Latino population increased from 5.7 percent to 7.3 percent of Pennsylvania’s total population. The state’s non-Hispanic white population decreased from 79.6 percent to 76.5 percent. The non-Hispanic Asian population increased from 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates are created using records of births, deaths, and migration to account for yearly population changes since the last Decennial Census.